Disclaimer: Another chapter, another time where I admit I don't own this stuff.

The Last Shinto Kami

Chapter Four: A Time of Contempt

"Its eyes are like akakagachi; it has one body with eight heads and eight tails. Moreover, on its body grows moss and also chamaecyparis and cryptomerias. Its length extends over eight valleys and eight hills- and if one looks at its belly, it is all constantly bloody and inflamed." Naruto repeated the myth he was told as a boy under his breath. Though the tale was twisted over time, as most are, the overwhelming scale of the beast was spot on. This was the Yamata no Orochi lording over him, and the golden-haired heir to the sun never felt so inconsequential. Naruto had to question how his uncle fought something like this alone... for a month straight, no less.

His brain screamed run, and Naruto nearly obliged. That was until his heart found its resolve to stand firm. If he let this monster run amok, it would ravage the land without opposition, causing unspeakable pain to the mortals. And he'd be the one to blame because he ran away. No. Naruto wasn't going to let that happen. Great beast or not, he was no coward.

Bright flames surrounded the god from the hips down. With their aid, Naruto became a walking spew of blistering fire. Using the speed increase from this partial transformation, he launched himself at Orochi, smashing a flaming fist into one of the snake's many faces. Immediately, Naruto realized the blow didn't land as cleanly as he would've liked.

Clicking his teeth, he bounced off the titanic serpent, tumbling backwards through the air. Naruto expelled a fire jet, jerking his body to the left and away from a snapping jaw. He had no plans on joining Raijin in the creature's bottomless stomach. Naruto rode his momentum left, tossing a searing blaze into the nearest snake face. But all it did was draw forth an annoyed hiss and some steam. His attack was frustratingly ineffective against his scaled opponent.

He wasn't afforded time to be surprised. Naruto was instantly on the defensive, weaving back and forth between a lunging tangle of serpent heads that sought to devour him. His evasive maneuvers ended up taking Naruto into the sky. It took nearly five hundred feet of distance for the young god to be safe from the ancient beast.

"I need more..." A vestige of divine essence rippled across Naruto's steadfast figure, ending with the godspawn wearing a brand new outfit. His new golden jacket exuded life force generated flames that shone over the top of a black bodysuit. Which was decorated with nine gilded magatama around the collar and a golden ring over his stomach. Naruto's hair emitted the same brilliant splendor with two tufts extending into horn-like appendages. [1]

The change also took a toll on the Omikami's physical body, namely his eyes. Instead of having white backgrounds, his orbs were filled black. And the only break in the ebony voids were the golden dots in them, his pupils, which shrunk to the size of a marble. "If blunt force won't cut it, I'll just pierce you, snake!"

His shiny aura extended further off Naruto's body until it went white near the edges. With some concentration, he whittled it down until his manifested fires sharpened into a lengthy spear. "Mabayui Yari! (Radiant Lance!)"

Naruto burnt an arch-shaped pathway of light into the sky as he attacked. His trajectory was completed with a severe nosedive at the timeless reptile. On the way down, three different heads took a pass at Naruto, but he was too fast for their bites to land. They tasted air while he soldiered down on the thick-bodied beast. When the dangerous point of the god-driven spear hit the snake, his momentum died on impact. The shudder from colliding with Orochi passed through Naruto's body. But the blonde wasn't one to be deterred easily. Just as Naruto started exerting himself, another head slammed into Naruto's ribs, throwing him aside.

He corrected his trajectory before he crashed into the ground. His golden pupils shrunk, then Naruto flashed away with a crackle of burning wood. The divine fighter teleported to the burnt grass near Orochi's gut, where he counted on the engorged underbelly being far less durable to outward trauma. So that's where he needed to attack.

Both parties unleashed an attack at the same time. It was a vigilant head that lunged at Naruto from his blind side. Aware that he wouldn't land his blow in time, Naruto pulled his arm back and jumped.

Naruto skipped back like a hurled stone until he evacuated the space around the multi-necked reptile. In doing so, he carved out a burnt path in the ground until he stopped some thirty yards away. 'Fuck, it's fast!' The wince going through him caught Naruto off guard. He grabbed at his left bicep, where the pain originated from. It wasn't visible under his cloak, but he sure felt it. While he escaped a fate similar to Raijin, Naruto didn't get away unscathed.

'I need to be faster!' This time calling on his powers came with an unexpected consequence. It felt like something clenched angrily around his immortal heart when his energies flexed. Unbridled pain caused Naruto's body to seize up and his cloak to disperse in a shower of fading embers. Golden god blood was spat up before he realized what was happening to him. 'Poison!' And a nasty one at that...

First, he channeled his reserve power into burning out the foreign substance. He never made step two because the ground under his feet rattled ominously. Even a moment's hesitation would've meant being swallowed. Instead, Naruto dodged the mouth by taking to the sky. However, that took him directly into a volley of venomous spew from another poised serpent maw.

A globe of bright flame encompassed Naruto, safeguarding him while the holy fires eradicated the new poison before it could damage the blonde any further. Having no plans of becoming a free meal when his defense faded, he wasted no time teleporting to a safe spot. Naruto picked where Orochi's tails should've been. 'Thanks, Oji-san.'

Naruto attempted to push his advantage while the snake had its huge back turned, but his effort ended when another wave of pain hit. Only this time around, it was much worse. His body went limp, and it took all he had to land on a knee instead of his face. But as Naruto did, there was the violent coughing that spat up sullied ichor.

His rash creation of fifty clones was done to protect himself, but also because Naruto panicked a little. For someone who routinely created north of a thousand... this poison-induced limit was frustrating. When the multi-headed monster finally turned around, it saw an army of blondes waiting for it. The amassed godlings rose in a single, defiant mob. Their mission was clear, given to them through the mental link they shared with the original.

If we can't break the scales from the outside. Then we attack from within. Keep one of the mouths open for me.

The manufactured horde of sun gods initiated a prolonged series of hit-and-run attacks on their temporarily shocked enemy. Their efforts were as clear as the rapid flashes of gold which danced around the thrashing snake's body. Speed and change of direction became the preferred methods of snake fang avoidance. It took twenty butchered clones before one of the duplicates scored a snap kick that turned an open mouth to the real Naruto.

"EAT THIS, BASTARD!" Every stimulus in his body heightened at once, nearly overwhelming him. The tunnel vision came as his heart rate exploded with self-made anticipation. Naruto's blood was roaring, ready to lash out like the attack sitting in his hand. "Rasentaiyogan! (Spiraling Sun Sphere!)" His latest attack was a hand-sized firebomb maintained around a violently-rotating core. He lunged at his foe's open maw, intent on blowing up its skull in one fell swoop.

The sweet satisfaction of victory was ripped from Naruto's hands when the solar sphere stopped an inch short of the target. Naruto tried everything to close the distance, but his struggles amounted to nothing. Soon, the Rasentaiyogan's better-than-gold shine faded along with the attack. Meanwhile, its creator looked down to find another of Orochi's heads holding him by the ankle. Finding out the reason his attack failed caused Naruto's morale to plummet.

"No! Let me-" He was summarily whipped aside, treated like nothing more than common trash. The clones watched their maker be disposed of and changed tactics. They mustered as much power as possible and went on the attack, hoping to buy Naruto some recovery time. From his prone position, all he saw were the explosions of light. That and the bursts of heat that crawled over his skin from the clone-fed rampage.

'I need more power if I want to win, but if I divert any energy from poison management, I'll lose. Damn it...' Was the poison's influence making him delirious, or did it hurt to think? That couldn't be a good sign, could it? 'Is it getting dark?' With that fleeting thought, Naruto's eyes closed with a muted groan.

They only stayed shut for a second before his eyes snapped open, and a soft smile unfolded on his face. "You've fought well, my child. Let me assist you with this pest." This voice came from his body but wasn't Naruto's. It was distinctly more feminine.

Moving mechanically but without issue, the injured deity stood once more. That's when an ebony eruption of flame jumped out of Naruto's infected laceration, cauterizing the wound instantly. It was also around now that the sun mark put on Naruto by Chaos started glowing through his tattered clothing. Now that the poison was purged from his system, Naruto turned his attention back to the oversized pest. "You harmed my son, beast. Burn."

After establishing her identity through a series of statements, Amaterasu infused her son with her own willpower, temporarily taking control. And she saw no better target for her motherly fury than the beast her brother exterminated centuries ago. She had a treasure trove of questions, but this was no time to ask them. Naruto's safety was Amaterasu's primary concern, and it always will be. "I said... burn!"

Mirroring how Naruto triggered some of his techniques, a snap of the fingers caused a growing flame to erupt on the snake's head. It wasn't long before Orochi's whole skull went up in a blistering inferno. The revitalized cries of pain that followed only deepened Amaterasu-Naruto's smile. If Orochi wanted to make her sunshine suffer, it'd suffer tenfold.

The heads lucky enough to be spared the black fire regarded Naruto with growing unease. They decided to withdraw, diving for the pit hole it created upon first arriving on the scene. It was a choice to retreat from the threat posed by Amaterasu-Naruto.

Now that the threat was taken care of, Amaterasu allowed a gentler smile to show through Naruto's face. The parental pride couldn't be measured nor contained by mere words, but Amaterasu said it anyways. "Let's take you somewhere safe before my fleeting control fades. I am proud of you, my sunshine."

The previously soothed features on Naruto's face scrunched up moments before the blonde stirred from his sleep. His eyes fluttered open, and instantly the young warrior went on high alert. The difference between day and night was as clear as the towering torii gate looming over Naruto. "Wait a minute... where am I?" Getting knocked out hadn't stopped Naruto from remembering what happened to him.

Although he was comparatively young, Naruto was no fool. There wasn't a world where the bloodthirsty Yamata no Orochi would allow its unconscious prey to escape. That meant someone or something must have saved him from an untimely end. Only Naruto didn't know who or why. It could have been a purposeful choice or a stretch of dumb luck. Either way, the whole situation left Naruto feeling sour.

But at least he couldn't feel the poison coursing through his veins anymore. "A silver lining, I suppose."

His somewhat decent mood continued heading south as Naruto recalled his bout with the snake. 'I was an idiot to think it'd be slow because of its size. I know a handful of creatures that are big and fast. Dumbass.' With the benefit of hindsight, Naruto already picked out several spots where he could've performed better. As an unrepentant brawler, his lackluster performance damaged his pride as a fighter.

That had always been an issue of his- the fight between expectations and reality. Chaos, Nyx, and Meg all approached him about his extremely high standards, but the drive to better wasn't something Naruto could just turn off.

Naruto's pensive silence ended when Naruto spat out an irritable plume of fire. Tucking both hands behind his head, he flopped onto his back with a sigh. "Well, there's no reason to cry about it now. However, I ain't dead, so this ain't over, Orochi. Not by a long shot." Naruto wouldn't stop until that thrice-damned serpent burned under his flames.

Gently tapping the back of his scalp with his thumbs, Naruto found himself lost in the starry sky above. Such unblemished beauty made it easy to gather his thoughts into something cohesive. "Scales can wait. I remember Raijin calling for his brother. If I'm going to believe him, that suggests the windy one is somewhere around here too. And I can't head back west until I deal with things here."

His idle inspection of the sky eventually led Naruto to the moon in all its silvery splendor.

There was just something about the moon tonight. Even obscured in a half-covering of clouds, the lunar shine was bewitching. It transfixed Naruto... soothed him too. He couldn't say why if someone asked, but he just started talking aloud. "Y'know, people think my powers are weaker when you're watching me. I don't feel that way. No, I'm more focused and in control. It's a good vibe. Like I am at peace, and nothing else matters."

Naruto could have gone on and on with this spontaneous admission to the moon had he not yawned. That gesture alone enlightened Naruto to how tired he really was. Both mentally and physically. "Whoever claimed gods don't need sleep is full of it. I've never felt more exhausted in my entire life." The blonde did his best to fend off the heaviness weighing down his eyelids as he rubbed his bare chest, but it was a losing fight.

One yawn turned into an avalanche of them until he had one that stretched his jaw far enough to make Naruto wince. After the pain subsided, his eyes closed. "I'll look for the windbag in the morning. I need some sleep, badly. Keep an eye out for me, Tsuki-chan?" The chance of saying anything else eluded Naruto, who fell into the seductive embrace of sleep.

He could face his trials in the morning.

Southern Island. Five Days Later.

The cyclical tides continued pushing through the shoreside cavern, creating an ambient whistle that fit the burrow nicely. It was a hymn that went hand-in-hand with the ethereal blue glow reflecting off the sleek cave walls. However, this beauty was a cover for something else. Two men met here to discuss something dubious at best.

Yet the barren cave amplified even the hushest of whispers into a clearly-stated proclamation, making the conversation impossible to miss.

"Hmph. I thought you said that brainless brute could be counted on when the time came? He's two days late, Fujin-san. We are forty-eight hours behind schedule at a time where every second counts." Anyone with half a brain would hear the raging battle between frustration and patience playing out in the man's voice.

Suijin was once the Shinto water god, but he didn't dress like the typical divine being. His ensemble lacked flash and substance entirely. Such was the consequence of wearing a plain cloak that spanned his shoulders down to his ankles. But apart from that, Suijin adorned himself with a black cap, which covered his straight, blue hair. Those same azure-shaded locks were slicked back, by the way.

The figure across from Suijin came with green hair and a pointed beard. This was one of his partners in crime, Fujin. Unlike his fellow fallen being, the wind god was garbed in a full suit of samurai armor. Complete with sigils of his sacred animal on each shoulder plate. And hanging from his hips were two identical sheathes. Both were empty and left clattering off Fujin's metal suit whenever the displaced former deity moved with any force.

"My brother thinks more with his muscles than his brain, true. But he won't fail me when it counts. He won't let us down. If Raijin is delayed, I believe he has a good reason for it. He'll show up. He always does, Suijin-san." His experience in dealing with some of Raijin's antics was paying off. No one else would be able to keep their composure at a time like this. They'd be sitting in the same irritable boat as Suijin.

"Your faith in him is all well and good... if our plan didn't hinge on everything moving forward together. You secured the gateways while I handled the creation of our bases. Meanwhile, it was up to Raijin-san to herd and subdue the monsters that crossed the boundary. Even one missing piece puts the whole operation in jeopardy." Suijin threw some additional information to stress the importance of unilateral punctuality from all parties. They were far enough into their plan that one misstep could threaten everything they hoped to accomplish.

Fujin held his tongue to avoid coming back with an unchecked bout of frustration. The last thing either needed was a useless squabble adding complications to their already precarious situation. "I understand what you're saying, Suijin. But there isn't anything we can do short of blindly searching for him. Or perhaps we should ask the boss for assistance? I mean, we already got-"

The sea-haired gentleman raised a hand, silencing his samurai comrade before the suggestion reached fruition. Wordlessly, Suijin turned to the cave's water supply and knelt in front of it, where he sunk his fingers into the shallow pool. Feeling through the ripples with his knuckles, Suijin attempted to find why his alarms were being tripped. "We have an uninvited guest among us. Keep your eyes up."

"He's here-" Naruto turned Suijin into a prophet by appearing in front of the man and driving his fist straight into Suijin's surprised face. The former water god couldn't react in time as the raw force in Naruto's punch sent Suijin deeper into the cave. Said blonde wasted no time taking Fujin by the skull and flashing out of the den, separating his enemies.

A frigid-eyed Naruto watched the fallen deity drop to his knees with a gasp. It would appear that Fujin wasn't built for Naruto's preferred method of traveling, seeing how it left the man in a coughing fit. "Get up and fight, ochite. Or I'll put you down like a rabid animal." The current iteration of Amaterasu's child was all business, a lingering side effect of crossing paths with Orochi.

Fujin felt his stand on end, not unlike an animal with its hackles raised in warning. The older man showed visible panic in his olive eyes and was something Naruto isolated. "How do you know that name? Who in Yomi's name are you?" The flippant reminder of his status as an over-glorified monster didn't help Fuijin's rapidly deteriorating mood.

Naruto wasn't about to give the green-headed fallen the kind of answers he wanted. "You don't belong here. Therefore, I'm here to remove you like any other cancer that needs correcting. It's how the world works, nothing personal."

Fujin would explain this stubborn sensation in him as a gut feeling. There was something wedged in his soul telling him the person responsible for Raijin's disappearance was standing in front of him. Planning on forcing the answers out of Naruto, the wind god went on the attack. Fujin armed himself by swiping his hands over the empty sheaths, creating and drawing two wind swords in a single movement. And while Fujin was quick, he wasn't reaching the same level of speed Raijin showed in his fight with Naruto.

This allowed Naruto to follow the wind-based weapon as it came slashing down on his head before he counterattacked. It was as simple as superheating the air creating the sword until Fujin's blade exploded in his hand. The rattling explosion didn't stop Fujin from following up with his other weapon.

His stab attempt ended with the same result. An explosion of sound, smoke, and flames. When the air pollution parted, Naruto was gone with it. Fujin didn't think to look up until he sensed a shift in the wind patterns above his head. And that was when Fujin saw Naruto dropping out of the sky with his flaming fist cocked back.

He jumped back, or he tried to. Things didn't play out like that... not with Naruto grabbing Fujin by his ankle and dragging him back into a body-folding gut punch. Blood flew from the wind manipulator's mouth. However, more worrying was the building orange glow in Naruto's mouth. It culminated in the golden-eyed deity breathing literal fire onto a helpless Fujin. The force behind his flames launched Naruto's target back. And as the burning man sailed away screaming, his metal suit scorched the vulnerable flesh underneath.

A self-contained tornado hit the back, dumping a whipping sand funnel onto the fire that illuminated the beach. With the flames doused, Fuijin freed himself, but the damage had been done. Not only was the fallen god's armor hissing orange, but the man's hair was burned away, exposing all the heat bruises, and burns marking his skin.

"How'd you like that one? It's not creative, but it's pretty damn effective. If I had to give it a name, I'd call it... Ryu no Ibuki. Dragon's breath. So? What do you think?"

A scowl pulled heavily on Fujin's face as he heard Naruto make light of him as a potential threat. Intent on teaching Naruto why mocking him was a mistake, the windy one thrust forward thanks to a pair of cyclones under his feet. The flush of wind moving against Fujin's blistering skin caused debilitating pain, but the burnt fallen refused to stop his charge. Faster than the human eye could follow, he was in front of the blonde with his new swords crossing at Naruto's neck in an attempt to behead the sun god.

Too bad his body wasn't answering his commands. "W-What trickery is t-this!?"

"I respect the tradition and beauty of sword fighting. There's an elegance to it... but there is a major flaw. Like knowing where you have to be to land a hit. That leaves you open to traps, Fujin." As Naruto shared his monotonous thoughts, a massive seal glowed white on the sandy ground around the two Shinto men.

"Mahi Bun'Ya. (Paralysis Field)"

Naruto strode forward, placing himself within two feet of his immobilized enemy, who the blonde stared down with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Tell me what you're doing here and how you ended up in this dimension."

"Why would I do that, you f-fool?" If he were able, Fujin would've laughed in Naruto's face for making such a stupid request. But as things stood, he was having a hard enough time getting words out of his mouth. So he'd settle for simple replies.

The young man's response came without a hitch, hardly bothered by the unfettered hostility thrown at him from his captive. "If you give me what I want, I will tell you where your brother is. That's the trade I'm offering."

"How d-do I know you're t-telling the truth!?" Going off his spiteful gaze, it was evident that Fujin wanted nothing more than to see Naruto's premature end. Preferably at his hands. But at the moment, Fujin was held at Naruto's mercy.

With the freedom of being in control, Naruto could do things like shrug nonchalantly. "You can't be sure. Doesn't change the fact that you have to decide if Raijin's life is worth the risk you're taking. That is how ultimatums work." And now it was time to kick back and monitor how the pressure played on Fujin's resolve.

The conflict raging within the trapped man was as plain as the nose sitting on his face. Eventually, he invoked a singular reply that he spat at Naruto. "Fine!" And it wasn't a choice the fallen Shinto looked pleased making.

"How did you get here?" Naruto spent the silent moments between searching for any twitches that'd give up what Fujin was thinking. "And what are you doing now that you are here?"

Fujin was deprived of the chance to share anything with Naruto when a kunai punctured his skull from behind, depriving him of his life. The throw had enough force to leave the kunai's point emerging from Fujin's forehead. Naruto's eyes widened as the kunai bubbled up before exploding, taking off the fallen wind god's head with a bang, splattering Naruto with tainted once-ichor.

A nonplussed blonde smeared the blood from his face while Fujin's headless body slowly deteriorated into a crimson mist. "Fantastic..." Naruto muttered his complaint, shifting his focused gaze to the interruption's source. A perfectly calm Suijin.

And of all things to start with, it was a sanctimonious statement rife with overconfidence. "Worry not; you shall share the same fate as my traitorous ally. All in due time." Suijin endeavored to surprise Naruto with a kunai from his billowing sleeve, but the golden blonde tilted his head out of the kunai's way. His lazy dodge got a scoff from Suijin. "Hmph."

Looking to close the distance, Naruto emptied a barrage of heavy punches and targeted kicks on the water man. But Suijin proved to have a solid defensive stance, which helped him block most of his opponent's attacks. They ended up locked together with Naruto's fists trapped in Suijin's grip. "All brute strength and no thought, just like your incompetent bitch of a mother."

The unwelcomed insult to Amaterasu sparked anger in Naruto's luminous golden eyes. When he responded, there wasn't any overwhelming power. Nor did he break out some sly tactic. The young god did something totally unexpected when he slammed his forehead into the prick's nose. Snapping Suijin's head back wasn't enough for Naruto. He tackled Suijin to the sand and unloaded on the stunned man's face. Naruto landed three satisfying punches before a swell of water blasted him from behind.

Both men clambered back to their feet, one with a bruised face and the other covered in ichor and clumps of wet sand.

"You fight like a brigand." The persistent twinges of pain in his jaw were inflamed by the mere act of speaking. His discomfort cemented the perpetual glare worn on the blue-haired ochite's face. It was clear to Naruto that this wasn't someone who was used to the struggle of close-quarters combat. Naruto, however, was more than ready to take a punch if that's what it took.

"Oh yeah? Fuck you, asshole." Usually, Naruto happily partook in a bit of battle banter. It made things more interesting than just grunting and yelling. However, most people didn't make the fatal mistake of calling his beloved Kaa-chan a bitch.

"Charming." An explosive volley of water went Naruto's way, only to be stopped by the blonde's fires. The two opposing elements met head-on and engaged in a struggle for supremacy. The process was slow, but Naruto was gaining the upper hand. Upon seeing this, Suijin added a second surge of water to his offensive.

Aware that this was a losing battle, Naruto cut his attack short with a click of his teeth. The solar god quickly jumped away before Suijin could do any damage. Taking up a new angle upon landing, Naruto thrust both hands forward this time, doubling the amount of firepower at his disposal.

It still wasn't enough to shake Suijin, who laughed off Naruto's attempt. "Predictable!" Seeing the younger man's attack off was as simple as raising a hand for Suijin. The following swell of water from the sea was four times larger than what Naruto managed. With the ocean powering him, Suijin routed the flames in seconds. This time Suijin was much closer to landing an attack, but Naruto still managed to get out of the way in time.

A deep breath from Naruto left his chest puffed out. He quickly turned that action into an exhale, which spread a field of glittering fire orbs that spanned the whole sandbar. Suijin examined the minefield around him with a frown that creased his face.

As soon as Naruto clicked his teeth, a ravaging wave of explosions tore across the beach, blanketing it in bright light. A massive wall of water shot into the sky from somewhere in the chaos. No doubt it was Suijin's attempt to protect himself from the barrage of blasts.

When the rotating barrier of seawater dropped, it exposed the smug smirk plastered to Suijin's bruised face. "Your attempts are futile. You can't beat me this close to the ocean. I am invincible." The boastful sound of his voice carried over the whole beach, much to the blonde's annoyance.

"Save your victory speech until you beat me, dumb ass."

"It doesn't matter if it's now or later; the difference is the same. You shall fall to me here." Suijin manipulated the back and forth to mask his next move. Because behind Naruto, a handful of aqua knives rose out of the foamy brine of the sea. They silently hovered until Suijin commanded them to shoot at Naruto's back.

Despite a lack of tells, Naruto fell to his stomach and avoided the surprise attack. Suijin frowned as his stealth knives soared over the space Naruto once filled. He hastily motioned for the kunai to make a U-turn. But this time, the water weapons were stopped by an eight-sided mirror of pure light, which Naruto summoned by clapping his hands together. Smirking at Suijin's shocked expression, Naruto returned the absorbed attack to its sender. However, it came out as a white light laser. The speed of it was too fast for Suijin to react to, costing him a puncture hole in his right shoulder.

"GAH!"

"Invincible, huh?" Naruto jumped on the chance to mock the man holding onto his bleeding wound. He wrung plenty of satisfaction in harming the fool that dared insult his beloved Kaa-san. "The only reason you are annoying is the ocean. It is doing all the heavy lifting."

"Insolent whelp!" A looping belt of water rose around Suijin's waist. From this circular garter extended eight tendrils that whipped about frantically. "I shall enjoy snuffing you out, sunspawn."

"Yo, everything's good to go, boss." The blonde godling refrained from grinning, though the temptation was definitely there. The clone he sent off when Suijin hid behind his wall was now in place and ready to spring the trap. 'You clones are the best idea I've ever had.'

With the clone's happy laughter filling his head, the real Naruto once again regarded the blue-haired asshole with his smoldering golden orbs. "Let me tell you something, asshole. I own every note my mother and uncles ever wrote; there were some passages on you and the other elementals. I know everything they knew about you. You weren't what we consider powerful, not even in your prime, which is a far cry from what you are now, beast."

Suijin's pale face burned ruby as he boiled in place thanks to Naruto's comment. Someone like him being compared to something as lowly as a beast? The thought was outright preposterous! "Those are but lies propagated by your accursed lineage! I shall end their slander with your death, thus restoring what was rightfully mine! Divinity!"

"There it is... the ambition that banished you from Takamagahara. Your position wasn't entitled; it was earned through actions. And it was a test you failed. Let that greed be what seals your eternal fate, Suijin no Ochite." Coming down to a debate of personal theology, Naruto despised the greed Suijin harbored. Suijin thought everything was his right, while Naruto believed in using his gifts to help others. "Activate it."

"Activate what?"

What a clueless Suijin couldn't know was this remark was meant for the clone waiting at the mouth of the cave. It was a clone with the almighty spear, Amennonuhoko, laid between his hands and buried in the sandy shore.

Taking what energy it had left, the clone's body shone brightly before its light was sucked into the spear and spiraled into the beach, saturating it with Naruto's brand of potent godliness.

Reconnecting with his energy was a simple task. He used that power to shape the hard soil far under the battle-stained sands into something useful. Naruto sculpted it into a spherical prison that engulfed Suijin and launched into the sky. "Enjoy the sky, sea urchin."

Suijin saw confusion shift into the uglier emotion called fury. He took this meager attempt at imprisonment as an insult of the highest order. The fuming fallen fighter put his hands against the warm rock, preparing to punch a rupture into this barren trap. One burst is all it should take...

"What?" He felt his powers flare up within, but in the same breath, he sensed the rocks housing him soak whatever essence he supplied. Growling, Suijin tried three more times before he began desperately slamming against the rocks holding him in place.

Back on the beach, Naruto's lips flexed upward at the influx of energy he felt building in the rocky shell. "You won't be breaking free with that level of power. He shot up into the sky on a tail of flames, landing gracefully on the top of the sphere. From there, a mess of flame shreds started gathering in his palm. "You won't be doing anything at all, bastard."

More and more flames formed in Naruto's hand, bringing a resurgence of light that never shone brighter than when Naruto lifted his hand overhead. "Give me more!" The Rasentaiyogan kept growing in size until it dwarfed both Naruto and the sphere. Then it shrunk to the size of a pebble while sweat dribbled down Naruto's temple and evaporated into harmless steam.

Naruto chiseled an opening for himself. He flicked the condensed sun bomb into the orb, and instead of waiting around to see what happened, Naruto shot back into the sky on two jets of fire. This let Naruto watch the earthen prison light up from within before a blistering emulsion lit up the mid-afternoon sky.

When the glow faded, what was left was Naruto overseeing a rain of ashes. "Enjoy your all-expenses paid trip to Yomi, asshole. Courtesy of Naruto-Omikami."

Meanwhile, the Greek world was about to undergo a terrible change.

War.

Phthia, Greece

Weddings were meant to be joyous affairs, or so we are told. However, even at such a party, not everyone is fortunate enough to be happy.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in there, Eris." Out of all the poor souls in attendance, Hermes drew the unenviable task of doorman. Even now, the thieving god didn't know why his father selected him as the man to tell the discord-spreading deity no. But this was the duty given to him by his Lord Father, Zeus. Hermes couldn't say no.

Through her curtain of draping black hair, Eris handed the speedster a look that could melt Hephasteus' forge. Hermes wasn't ashamed to admit he flinched under such blatant feminine fury. "You're telling me I'm not welcome at a wedding ceremony open to the gods?"

"Y-Yes?" Outwardly, Hermes exhibited a nervous chuckle that caused a single curly tuft of hair to wiggle on his forehead. Internally it was a whole other story. On the inside, where it was safe, Hermes cursed a storm and asked why Apollo couldn't deal with this terrifying woman. Then he'd be the one to enjoy all the booze put on display.

It appeared curses were popular on the day. Because Eris went on to uncork an impressively long chain of curse words that only furthered Hermes' discomfort. When she paused to breathe, Eris went into her extravagant robes for something. "Here it is, my gift. Enjoy!" Coming out with a golden apple bigger than either god's head, Lady Discord held the fruit with both hands and threw it overhead into the party. Where it rolled into feast until its inscription was left face up for the world to see.

καλλίστῃ

To The Fairest

With the seed planted, an irate Eris flew off to who knows where. Hermes moved to collect whatever discourse she left in her wake. At least until he saw who the golden apple of discord attracted. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all had this look in their eye. It wouldn't do him any favors. Perhaps it was beneficial he froze up... a much kinder fate than being torn into pieces by those three. "Oh, Tartarus!"

Aphrodite spent much of the wedding basking in the enamored looks of men and women, mortals and gods alike. Wherever her beauty went, eyes followed. So when her eyes caught sight of the apple and its message, a beautiful smile took hold of her perfect face. "What is this~? The fairest? Don't mind if I do."

The beautiful one was stopped short of her desires by a stern hand on her wrist. The frown forming deepened further when Aphrodite's purple eyes landed on a set of steely grays. There stood Athena, beautiful even in her distinct form of presentation. Too bad the wise one was too strict for the love dove's taste, or else she could've been a real head turner. "What do you think you're doing, Aphrodite?"

"I am taking what is mine as the fairest woman, Hooty. What is it to you?" Like most of their large family, there was a turbulent history between the two goddesses. This led to something of a rivalry between beauty and wisdom. Fortunately, these spats rarely turned violent, unlike other godly disputes in the family.

Zeus and Poseidon

Zeus and Hades

Hades and Demeter

Hades and Hera

Hera and Zeus

To name a few...

Athena thought to smirk but instead shifted into taking a smirk that leaked false kindness. "I think you've heard too many compliments from all the men and animals you've drugged into sleeping with you." If there was one button to push when it came to Aphrodite... matters of love.

The only thing keeping Aphrodite from shrieking at the backhanded insult is the wedding festivities. But that didn't stop her vibrant eyes from running a gauntlet of different colors in her fury. "I don't drug men or women! And I certainly do not sleep with animals! What would you know about these things, virgin girl?"

The honorable personification of warfare turned her nose at the tactless insult. Athena chose to be a virgin goddess, so Aphrodite's thoughtless barb carried little weight. "You wouldn't know this, but being fair is more than a physical appearance. The one to claim this apple should also know how to act respectably. Something you know little about."

"I agree, Athena. It's why this golden apple was clearly meant for me, the Queen of Olympus." Hera looked down and regarded the apple with great interest. She couldn't see a world where this beautiful gift wasn't destined for her, the Queen of Gods. No matter how one looked at it, Aphrodite and Athena didn't match up to her.

Aphrodite's long hair went from a strawberry blonde to a burning red in reaction to her growing anger. Being backed into a corner by Athena and Hera led Aphrodite to lash out with the issues closest to their hearts. "But you are, Hooty? You're second fiddle to Ares, war girl. Tell me how the fairest can be second best? And you, Hera? If your husband can find his way from another woman's bed, maybe he can tell me how fair you are?"

Although she was far from happy over the reminder of Ares' growing popularity, Athena bit her tongue and focused on Hera, who she viewed as the more pressing threat. "The airhead actually makes a good point... for once, Hera."

The icy glare on Hera's face was the nightmare of many, but pride alone prevented Athena and Aphrodite from feeling its full effect. This was a battle that none of them were willing to lose. "Surely, you don't consider yourself worthy of this apple, Athena. You're but a child born outside the sacred bounds of marriage. A bast-"

Athena was one of her husband's more bearable mistakes. However, Athena was still a bastard and an offense to her marriage with her brother. If the Goddess of Marriage had it her way, all of Zeus' illegitimate children would be nothing but memories left to wither with time.

Unfortunately for Hera, her husband had the final say. And he wouldn't do away with those like Athena, Artemis, and Apollo. So she adapted because, as the queen, she needed to maintain a certain standard of grace. Bastards or not.

It was best for everyone that Hera's inflammatory remark didn't make it off her lips. Instead, the three women devolved into a bitter back-and-forth argument over who rightfully deserved the glorious golden apple. But by now, their spectacle had drawn the attention of everyone else. The party waited and watched to see what happened next.

The discord-rich quarrel built upon itself with every personal attack spoken. With the venomous insults came a gradual rising in divine power that made the other wedding attendees nervous for their own safety. If it weren't for Athena making a remark that satisfied them, Phthia wouldn't be more than a smoking crater.

"We will ask our peers who is the fairest. The winner is the one that will take ownership of the apple. I believe this is a suitable compromise?" That was the deal, and it made sense to Hera and Aphrodite, who agreed with their respective nods. To all three of them, there was no way their fellow gods would choose someone else.

"Fine!" Aphrodite's luxurious hair lashed around her body like a whip when she turned on her heel. She isolated and ensnared an ashen-faced Apollo with her expectant stare. Her voice chimed with a hint of irritation as she spoke. "Tell them, Apollo darling."

Athena rolled her eyes at Aphrodite's desperate ploy from the pretty one to use her charm. She picked out Hermes, who failed his attempt to escape unnoticed. "I expect you will tell us the truth, Hermes." And if he didn't, that glare etched onto her face promised untold amounts of pain.

Both sons of Zeus opened their mouths, but fear of reprisal rendered Apollo and Hermes silent as the dead. They were smart enough to know choosing one opened them up to the vengeance of the other two. So the two tricksters tried every stalling tactic they knew in hopes of divine intervention saving them.

Poseidon ambled toward his younger brother during the uproar caused by his kin. He watched the pending doom unfold just like Zeus. "You'd be wise to do something about this, brother. If you don't act, they will rip Greece into pieces. This matter must be settled here and now."

"Yes, they will." But that is what Zeus wanted to happen. It was his visions foretold- their contest would drag the mortals into a devastating war. The results would shear the growing population of man that rose with the Bronze Age boom. And best of all, Zeus himself couldn't be held responsible when the dust settled. Then the real threats to his kingship, his demigod children, would be erased from history.

Greece and Troy would be a war for the ages.

"Husband, inform these two why this title is fit for a queen and no other." With that said, even Zeus needed to be careful with his following words. They needed to be fair. If they weren't, people might suspect something was amiss. And Zeus refused to let suspicion taint a plan he had been formulating for decades.

"Enough! You three will not ruin this wedding!" The loud sound of the thunder king's demands slammed the brakes on the real-time fiasco. Now that Zeus had everyone's attention, he simmered down to a normal speaking voice. This was the power of a king. "If we are to settle ownership of this apple, it shall be done right. We require someone with no bias toward any of the three claimants. Agreed?"

The uninvolved nodded their heads in agreement; the idea held merit. While most of the gods present exhaled with relief, knowing they wouldn't be subjected to the trio's persecution. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all stared at the bearded king, waiting to hear this idea of his. "Hermes, there is a simple shepherd in the countryside of Mount Ida. Lead them there. He shall be the judge. Fair and final, his choice shall be the one to claim this golden apple."

"Right... follow me, please." Surprisingly, the three goddesses seemed unbothered that they had been sent off like sheep. No, they were focused on being named the winner and nothing else. It was clear even the divine could fall to the trappings of power.

Most returned to the part with the danger of the apple properly quelled. For ninety percent gathered here, the boons of the grand wedding were enough for them.

Left alone for a moment, Zeus freely stared at the golden apple with a shrouded smile tucked into his beard. In the reflective luster of the fruit, the king saw a face. He gazed upon the image of his shepherd, Paris. This unassuming man happened to be the hidden prince of Troy and a catalyst of things to come. 'You have a great destiny ahead of you, Paris. But I'll make sure you fulfill your fate, boy.' Yes. Paris of Troy would be the tool that culled the bloated, threat-ridden Greek world.

Off to the side, Poseidon got a good look at his brother's face. What he saw set off all kinds of danger alarms in the ocean king's head. But this wasn't the time nor place to act on his hunch. 'Just what are you planning, Zeus?'

END

Writer's Note I: Hey everyone, here's the latest chapter. I must apologize. I wanted to get this done two weeks ago, but the summer heat made it tough to muster the energy. Technically, I have this down as the Prologue Arc's end. Now onto the Trojan War, a pivotal point in Greek Mythology. Let us see how Naruto plays into Zeus' attempt at demigod cleansing.

Until next time, stay safe out there. Oh, and please be kind enough to drop a review. It helps.